I found you, I saved you
by IluvfanficXD
Summary: I never wanted a pet. I didn't want a clingy, needy bitty or a bite-sized jackass to live with. I don't know why you even went into the store, really. ... I didn't want a pet, but I found a friend.
1. Chapter 1

Well, you just became a hypocrite.

The one person that always said "I'll never get a bitty, that's so dumb, psh." is now here, outside the plaza in the chilly Autumn night. You came here for pizza, but after eating said pizza and feeling lonely while doing it, you stared down the center while feeling the conflict of two very large emotions.

Dignity, and **Omigosh they have little furniture must pet-.**

It was no wonder that dignity would give out, being crushed by the omnipotent desire to pet cute things. But then again, dignity was always the first thing to walk the plank in an emotional conflict. Dammit, paper-thin self esteem.

You got out of your car to look at the place a bit closer. It was nice, colorful, warm and oddly nice. No, you weren't going to go in. You knew that once you went to this particular plaza you would be tempted to go inside, but this wasn't just a fight for your dignity. This was a fight for your independence. You work at home, and all that alone time could be used on someone that wasn't you. That... it sounds so terrible that you grin a bit at the thought. You don't want someone to talk to. You don't want any friends or anything.

You could just go back, stay alone and go home to eat caramel popcorn and watch reruns of trashy anime.

You'll get attached, Y/N. You know this. You'll want to pet, and then you'll black out and wake up at home with adoption papers and a bitty that could also talk to you and enjoy some hobbies, maybe do some arts and crafts together or try knitting again-

Yeah, you were really losing against the better hopeful part of you.

Combine being extremely sleep-deprived with having nobody to talk to except some not-so-close friends and family, while also adding a non-exhaustive list of unlucky streaks and bills to pay. That's right! You get the dysfunctional and childish adult that looks back at you in the mirror. You would say that it sucked to be you, but you wouldn't go that far.

Maybe when the internet bill comes back out. Then it'll be hell. Maybe you should go over on the minutes just to spite them... But that would just make things worse, wouldn't it? damn you, well-planned internet services... One day you'd shove those routers right up their...

You grumble a little but sigh.

Back on the subject...

You never knew why bitties were so popular lately. Was it the bright eyed skeletons or the colorful attitudes of the monsters? Was it the idea of caring for another sapient being? Was it the lamias? it's gotta be the lamias. Everyone doted on the blueberry bitties, the shy cherries, the yan-something -something or whatever (Yan.. uh.. insert Japanese term here?). And whatever else. Let's be honest, you were too tired for this. Here you were, outside the bitty adoption center, looking at the wide array of faces behind the glass and checking out each with their mini accommodations. Thankfully, it was a neat arrangement for the little creatures; not like some establishments that barely even treated them ethically.

But you knew, these weren't pets. These were little people, and it infuriated you to no end to see people treat them as such. So, why were you even coming in here again? Was it to check out the little guys? Was it to spend some time with them? You would get attached again. You always did. Why tempt yourself?

Despite your more hopeful thoughts, you were never thinking of buying a pet. You knew you wouldn't be a plastic happy-go-lucky caretaker. You wouldn't be able to be a smiling face all the time. Sure, you owned a cat or two before, but you don't have to put up a front with an animal. Bitties are like roommates, really. Really dependent roommates.

So when you got in, wincing at the sound of the loud doorbell's chime while an attendant walked over to you with a face so bright it could burn your eyes, you were so ready to get out and flee. Almost every bitty was excited, looking at you expectantly and with hope-filled eyes as they tried to get your attention.

You faced the attendant and told her that you would be looking around, not adopting. Her face turned slightly downcast before her perfectly-etched saleswoman mask came back and plastered itself on her face once more. "Sure thing! Feel free to look around, dear."

After a while, you weren't really connecting with any of the bitties. The 'Sans' bitties were WAY too lazy for your taste, and you didn't like how… piercing their gaze could be. Jeez, it was like they could look through you. You were looking for a possible friend, not a pantomath. Plus, for some reason you didn't want to get on their bad side.

The blues, on the other hand, were too energetic. Just like the cashier, really. Apparently, they were also really needy. You weren't really able to cope with emotionally needy people; it would stress you out too much and you wouldn't have the right mental state to care for them. You were sure that they'd be amazing to have around, but you wouldn't be able to be there as much as they'd need.

The reds were too grumpy, angsty and just plain cruel. One of them made a smart remark about your looks before you told it that your middle finger was bigger than its body. It remained speechless until it grumbled and flopped on a beanbag. Huh. They have a napoleon complex too, huh? You would leave that can of beans unopened, thanks.

The cherries cried too much. Though you had a few friends that cared for them, the constant crying would surely irritate you, no matter how sweet the poor things are. You wished all of them a nice home, really. Even the reds. Hmph.

You were about to leave, having seen all there was in the store. Good Y/N. You successfully managed to get out of a pet store without getting a bitty. Your dignity was strengthening with your self-restraint!

Until you saw him, that is.

He was the largest bitty in the store, trembling with tears beading in his eyes and a tight-fitting muzzle strapped around his skull. A small crack on his head could be seen from where you were standing. He wore a rather-ratty sweater that clung onto his thin bones and he held up something towards you; a little box with a ribbon messily tied around it. He put it towards the small gap in the cage where it would fit through. Was that for.. you?

"…Hello, little guy. Are you alright?" You asked warily. That muzzle has to hurt…

"..'f.. If y-you adopt me… T-these 're yours.. please don't leave me h-here..." His voice was so hushed and wobbly that it was a wonder why he hadn't burst out into tears right there. He wasn't like a cherry; this guy has been through a lot of hurting in his lifetime.

You walked over to the attendant with a darkened expression.

"I see you're curious about the… pure bite? Not a lot of people give these guys a chance, sadly enough." She mumbled.

"Why did you put a muzzle on him?" You stood a bit straighter looked at her, voice laced with just a tiny bit of accusation.

She looked at you sadly. "Unfortunately, it's a state-law that all pure bites in shelters must have a muzzle; for the safety of the people and for the caretakers. You're free to take it off in your house, but these little guys have a tendency to snap at others pretty often. Not really because they don't like you, but because it's a little reflex of theirs. By snap I mean bite, hence the name. Their teeth are also pretty sharp, so I hope you understand the need for a muzzle."

"I see." The pure bite lowered the box dejectedly, already heading to the back of the cramped looking cage as it wiped some tears away.

"If you're wondering, these guys are pretty hardy in the bitty department. They can eat a variety of foods, but protein-rich food is better for their health, so anything is good in moderation. This guy is about two years old, and hasn't exactly been in the best of households. He's been in and out for almost all of his life, and he's going to need a lot of TLC, as well as a steady home to take him in. He'll be put down in a few weeks if we can't find a good home for him, sadly enough."

"Put down?! I thought that bitty shelters didn't do that!" You hushed out a forced whisper while making sure that the poor baby didn't hear it. "The rights haven't been passed yet on whether bitties are truly sapient or dependant. Since they can't survive as independent beings, it makes it harder for the rights to be processed."

"That's bullshit..." You glanced at the bitties. All of them would really have a fair chance of getting adopted, really. They're small, cute, and they don't seem as emotionally worn as the other guy. Bitties could live long lives as long as they had things to live for. HoPe, was it? You looked back at the pure bite and felt your heart break. Who did this to the poor bitty? But there was something there. He still had hope that someone, anyone was going to adopt him and take him out of that smelly, small old cage.

He believed in you to be that person.

"I understand if you might not want to adopt on the first da-"

"I'll take him."

You'd be a soulless bastard if you left him rot here any longer. The little pragmatic side of you shut up; no shred of reason would make you leave this precious little guy here. So you said it.

Thankfully, the "OMG MUST SEE PET PET PET" side of you has won a justifiable battle. For once.

"I see- wait, for real?" She looked agape, but happy nonetheless. "I'm so happy that you decided to adopt him! Don't worry, he's an absolute sweetheart, he just needs to warm up to you, is all! Let me get the papers and you'll be good to go!"

She grabbed some adoption papers and files, then told you to sign here, here, here, oh don't forget there, and here too. Initial here, last name there please, you're doing good, just a billion more papers!

You needed some coffee. A gallon of coffee. No- A fucking VAT of coffee. Fuck you too, insomnia.

Finally, after signing a final paper you were finished. Most of it was papers that ensured you would be fined if you tried to harm him in any way, shape or form. Why someone hurt a bitty, you didn't want to know. There were some papers that showed vaccines, but you had no idea how you could vaccinate bone. As well as papers and certificates of ownership and all that jazz. She also handed you various manuals on how to care for bitties and purebites, which you put in your bag. Then you paid with the credit card that you prayed had enough money. With a few tense moments the card went through and you let out a stifled breath of relief.

She reached behind the counter and grabbed a set of keys, which let out a jingle that got every bitty's attention almost immediately. They looked at you with literal stars in their eyes as they looked attentively at the direction in which the attendant walked. Some of them gave up and went back to their own devices upon seeing that she wasn't heading towards them, while others looked at you sadly before doing their own thing. Those looks broke your heart, but you knew that you weren't going to be able to care for them properly. It would be careless and un-empathetic to take a person (no matter how little and adorable they may be) into your home without being fully prepared to handle them.

Sure, you might not be the most qualified person to care for this big guy, but hey; for him, it was either you or the unthinkable.

As sad as you were, you noticed that the pure bite didn't look up from it's spot, as if it was used to others being picked instead of him. Perhaps people were unnerved with the many warnings that came, or his muzzle being strapped on so tightly that you could see some light marks on the bone. As soon as you get home you're yeeting that thing the fuck out of the window.

Finally, she approached the Pure Bite's cell.

And she opened his cage.

Some bitties seemed happy for the low-spirited purebite, cheering for him and giving reassuring words to spur his confidence.

But...

when that bitty saw that his cage was open and he looked at you, you saw the eyes of a child who saw God.

So.. You didn't want a pet...

.

.

But you found a friend.


	2. Take me home, I need somebody

The nameless bitty sat in his rather tight-fitting cell, trying to lay in a way that was at least a bit comfortable. Since he was so big, he couldn't fit in most of the cages that the humans put him in. At least they gave him a squishy mat to lay on and a blanket, as well as a few toys to play with.

There wasn't a lot to do in the cage, but it supposed that there wouldn't be much to do outside of the cage either. Most of the times he would talk to the other bitties who neighbored him, but other times he would stay quiet and still; thinking about how his new owner would be.

Someone would adopt him right? He's not staying here forever, right? He eyed the box that lay beside him; reserved for whoever would take him in. Hopefully they would be nicer than the last ones.

He wishes that they love him lots.

He wishes that they take off the muzzle, which has started to get really sore after rubbing down the bone underneath. But.. Even if they don't want to take it off though, it's okay.

He just wishes to have someone to hug him and say that things will be alright. He hopes that they talk to him and give him the smiles that he's seen others give to his neighbors. He hopes that they don't hit him or yell too much, but even if they do, it's okay. Because maybe it was for a reason. Maybe he's too bitey. Maybe he's scary.

But he'll take anything other than this.

He wishes that they love him. But even if they don't, it's okay.

His fists tangle up with the wrinkled ribbon as he worked his best to make it pretty enough for his new owner. He'll be good. He won't hurt them. He'll try his best not to bite. The crack on his skull aches as he works, and the muzzle gives him a headache, but he'll be fine.

He'll…

He'll be fine..

He starts crying. He tries to hide it but he can't help it. He's constantly scared of what will happen. He doesn't want a bad owner, he doesn't want to get hurt again! He's crying more until one of the reds start complaining.

"Ey bub, quit your crying; I'm try'na sleep over 'ere."

"I-I'm *hic* S-sorry.." He apologizes the best he can.

"Yeah, you better be."

Some of the blues and cherries try to console him, and it works, for the most part.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay, and you'll find a great owner who'll love you. I'm sure of it!"

"Yeah! Just keep moving forward. You'll find an owner in no time!"

"R-Really?"

"Yep! We believe in you, so don't give up!"

The reds only laugh to themselves.

"Heh… Ain't that ironic. Don'tcha know that the other day I overheard something veeery… interesting from the caretaker lady?"

"Red. Stop it this instant!" Yelled a cherry.

"You keep thinking that someday, you'll find a good owner and life will be perfect, huh?"

"Y-Yeah…" He admitted. He gripped the ribbon tighter. It was a going away present from a little girl that had left him the memento, and it was the softest fabric he's ever owned up to now.

"Well that's fucken' hilarious, kid. Nobody likes your kind of species. You just take up space. You see where I'm getting here?"

"…What?"

**"Red, shut up!" **Yelled a Sans.

"You're not going to get an owner. Every other pure bite disappeared. They didn't get owners, they went into that room over there and never got out. They're gonna kill you and put a likable idiot in your place."

**"RED!"**

In a matter of seconds, he felt numb.

That.. that wasn't true, right?

He won't die, right?

The other bitties tried to console the pure bite, but the damage had already been done. White noise echoed in his skull and it was like he shut down. He didn't feel sad, mad, or anything. Just blank.

It takes him days to settle in to that thought. Not a lot of people come, but he sees the attendant's face and understands what those looks mean now. He wasn't very smart, or tough or mean, but he knew that look and what the reds said was true.

Did he deserve this? Did he do something wrong? Is that why he was here, with a cold muzzle and a small cage? Maybe that's why he's here. Maybe he did something bad before and that's why he was trapped. Maybe he deserved to die, somehow.

He tries his best to understand why. Why did he end up here? Why didn't anybody want him or other purebites? Why did nobody love him?

He smiles and tries to act like the other bitties. He scowls like the reds. He pretends to be as excitable as a blueberry, or laid back like the sanses, but no matter how many times he does it, it's never good enough for people to adopt him. He ties his present the best he can and waits. Hopes. Prays. Nobody looks at him without wincing or shuddering besides the attendant, who checks off the days on her calendar and looks at him every time she does. He knows how much time he has.

He gives up trying to impress the people that come in. He doesn't eat, he doesn't drink. He doesn't even sleep most of the time. He just sits at the very back of the cage, un-moving. The other bitties start to worry about the usually calm-tempered bitty, but leave him to his own devices. He doesn't bother to look at the people, because he knows they'll never adopt him.

The ribbon isn't tied around the box, strewn along the floor of the cage. He's given up.

Night falls and he sees the calendar behind the attendant's desk. A circled date for when he's going to be taken to the room and never going back out.

He'll be in a cage in that room if nobody gives him a chance, then he'll die.

Maybe… maybe this last time he'll try once more. Just one more time. He moves softly, quietly and blankly, tying the prized ribbon around the little box of candies that he saved for the person who would give him a chance.

Nobody comes in, but he stays hopeful. He tries to smile (blankly) like the other bitties do and he waits, holding the box out and thinking about what he's going to say. "If you adopt me, these are yours!" It becomes later. The ticking of the clock perched on one wall makes everything seem quieter.

The last person to come in before closing time walks in. He stays hopeful. They look at every other bitty but him. He doesn't mind, it's happened before. they almost walk away and he starts shaking. No! He has to stay strong! He… he…

He's going to die soon.

But then they look back at him and he starts crying. The words that he rehearsed come out all jumbled and messy.

"..'f.. If y-you adopt me… T-these 're yours.. please don't leave me h-here..."

Something flashes through their eyes and they walk over to the attendant. They keep talking and the attendant eyes him when she thinks he doesn't know she's looking. They don't want him either.

Even if nobody loved him, it was okay.

But…

He was selfish. He wanted someone that would love and care for him, hug him and pet his skull, take off the muzzle and give him a warm bed where he could stretch fully without sleeping in a cramped enclosure. He wanted someone that would care if he got hurt or if he was sad, or someone that could play with him and cuddle.

Except now that would never happen.

He goes back to the end of the cell, leaving the box to the side as he finally accepts his fate. He hears the familiar sound of a pen on many papers, then he hears the keys jingle; they probably adopted a blueberry. But then..

The attendant opens his door. Wait…

He looks up to see the human smiling up at him and all he feels is HoPe resurging forward. He wants to jump for joy and laugh and hug them and tell them how happy he is but all he does is squeal and stare at them. He takes note of everything they look like, he gets out of his cell and stretches, enjoying the feeling of finally getting out of that constant crouch from being in the cage.

And he's so, so happy.

Even if they don't want to love him, it's okay. Because he won't stop loving them back.

* * *

You regret nothing. You watch in amazement as the small, probably 1'3 bitty got out of the cage and just looked at you with the most admiration and wonder in the world. His face was like the expression of someone that gets something so nice that they're rendered speechless. What's that weird thing behind him? Wait… that's….

HE HAS A LITTLE TAIL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AND IT'S WAGGING YOU'RE GONNA DIE-

Take that, dignity.

Finally, you broke the silence and crouched down to meet his eye level. What would you even be able to say to someone that you.. bought? You tried not to cringe as to not make the little guy self-conscious, but with that look, you doubted he was even conscious. He would rub his eyes and look up at you again, as if checking if he was dreaming or not. It was adorable.

Should you pick him up or just walk him to the car? How old would he be in bitty years? He's two.. so that means…

He's only eight?!

He had literal stars in his eye sockets, and you could see him smiling through the muzzle. The attendant chuckles and goes back to doing paperwork at the desk. Well, first things first. Introductions. You can do this, Y/N. Don't act weird, don't screw it up, it's just saying a simple 'hi how are you' like a well adjusted adult perfectly capable of adulting that totally knows how to do taxes.

"Uh, hey! My name is Y/N and I'll be taking care of you from now on! Hm? What is it, kid?"

"Here!" He hands you the box with an old, faded ribbon and looks at you expectantly.

"Wow! This is really cool, kid! Did you do this all by yourself?"

He looks a bit bashful and nods proudly. "I love it! Thank you. Let's open it when we get home, okay? Do you have a name, little guy?"

He seemed to snap out of his daze and smiled even more before responding. "No. You can name me whatever you want though! I'm happy with anything!"

Agh god this kid was going to be the death of you. Your heart can't deal with so much wholesomeness! "Oh, okay! Uh.. I'll decide on a name for later. How about we get you some clothes to bring home? I didn't really come fully prepared for a bitty… Sorry about that, hon."

"Really?"

"Sure! Pick out two or three full outfits that can fit you, and whatever else you might need. Take your time, okay?"

"Okay Y/N." He walked along the pet store aisles and grabbed a heart sweater with soft-looking pants, a shirt and some jeans, as well as two pairs of small sneakers. He brought them up to you proudly, and you winced at the sight of the muzzle on him. You wanted to glare at the attendant, but she didn't really have a say in this either. Just you wait, muzzle. You'll throw that out like no tomorrow. And give his clothes a good wash too while you're at it.

You checked the price tags, and blessedly enough they weren't over 100$. You would have to make him some makeshift furniture until your paycheck came in; then you'd buy some extra commodities. "These are really good outfits! You got some good taste in clothes, toots!"

He beamed. His smile suited him so much more. Soon enough you paid for everything and started to walk out the door, but you noticed one tiny, little, insignificant fucking detail.

It was raining like a mofo.

No, seriously. It wasn't raining. It was like what was left of the ocean was pouring into the skies. So, either go out and ruin your hair, clothes, and everything else while also needing to drive after, or stay inside and rot.

Hm… What to choose. Both sound equally appealing, really.

Oh.

Right.

You have another person in your life. You can't just make decisions for yourself anymore, now can you?

Life used "Bitty" on (probably)independent adult!

It was super effective!

You recalled having an umbrella in your trunk, so you could just leave him inside while you fetched the umbrella to avoid him from getting drenched. Seems like that's the plan for now, you supposed. You walked over to the attendant and asked for a larger plastic bag to put your bag in, your giftbox, as well as the bitty's new attire. She obliged and soon enough, you placed everything in the bag and opened the door. The bitty was waving a goodbye to all of his friends, it seemed. Even some reds waved back, to your surprise.

You unlocked the car from your spot under the pet store awning, then held the bag over you for the moment. Just enough space for yourself, but what about the purebite? (Gosh you really needed to name him.)

He looked up at you curiously then smiled like the adorable ray of sunshine he was. You were presented with two options yet again. Either save your keister and your clothes from getting wet while also letting him get soaked in the rain… or leave him inside, get soaked, go to the trunk and grab the umbrella, then pick him up with the umbrella and get inside the car.

That wasn't even a choice, you thought as you closed your car door. He swung his legs as he sat on the car seat, taking in every single detail he could manage. He was really quiet, huh? Well, you didn't mind; maybe it's just a lot to take in. His clothes were blissfully dry, but you on the other hand, were not.

You glanced at your hair in the car window. There goes $80 dollars, Y/N. Your wallet is crying. Thankfully you could run fast enough to the other side of the car before you wet your clothes any more, because you were not about to drive while being drenched.

A small rumble came from the bitty's direction. You could see him smelling the pizza fumes in your car. Hopefully there was some left.

"You must be hungry, little guy. Here ya go. Sorry if it's a bit cold."

You reached over to the backseat and handed him a slice, which in hindsight must have been enormous for him.

"Thank you! I haven't had pizza before." You were about to start driving when you noticed he wasn't eating. Maybe the pizza was too cold then…

"You alright?"

"Yes.. um…"

"OH Shi- Uh.. Shucks, I forgot to take this off! Sorry, I can get pretty forgetful when I'm tired." You reached over to the passenger seat and he flinched just slightly before realizing what you were going to do, then relaxing. You unbuckled the muzzle and gave him a little rub because god that must have been chafing like bloody hell. He started getting really teary.

"Thank you.. I.. I don't know what to s-say, really. Thank you for being so nice."

Really? Getting a slice of cold pizza and taking off a muzzle is nice?

"W-Well get used to it, little fella. I'll be nice to you forever, okay?" Don't cry Don't cry Don't Cry.

His eyes sparkled a bit more and he nodded. "Okay! Also, I really like pizza now." His smile looks so much better without the stupid muzzle.

You can tell that the both of you will get along just fine.

"Just wait until you try it with pineapples…"

He looked outside the window with wonder, often commenting about how pretty everything was.

Ah, your weakness. Silence. With silence come thoughts, and with thoughts come internal debate. But hey, you had fun trolling your inner demons so... Let's do this.

***Irrational anxieties entered the chat.***

Yolo, bitch.

**…So. ** T his ** actually happened. Did you even think this through?**

No.. of course you did. What were you gonna do, let this guy rot in a cage?

**Of course not! But still… you aren't even ready to take care of an animal, much less a bitty. You'll screw things up so bad...**

You'll try your best.

**Your best isn't good enough.**

So you're saying that you should just stop trying? Can't do that now, can you? You have a literal kid now.

**…**

*Anxiety has left the chat.*

Fuck you too.

Eventually you got home. It was a small house, just two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, but it was perfect for you, at least. You got out of your car as the rain started holding up and took advantage of the fact that you weren't getting poured on. Quickly but surely, you opened the trunk and got out your umbrella, then opened the other door for your new housemate.

"Here, let me just undo the seatbelt for ya real quick and- AAGH!" The bitty looked startled, then shocked, then panicked. He bit you. You looked at your hand in a bit of shock. It bled a lot, but the adrenaline didn't make you feel it much, thank god. Maybe he just hit a vein; the wound wasn't even that deep. But hey, now you know just how sharp those teeth are.

Maybe you can invite your stepmother and tell her to cuddle him. Heh…``

"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to hurt you! Honest! Please don't take me back!" He started mumbling about muzzles and getting back to the center and how he didn't want to hurt you and you looked at your wound gingerly as he rambled.

"It's okay hon, I know you didn't mean it." You reached over at the seatbelt, noticing him flinch again, then pet his skull soothingly. "Don't worry, I'm not taking you back there, and I won't put the muzzle back on. Okay?"

He looked at you worriedly, scanning your face as if waiting for it to be a lie. You didn't need to get to your house right away, so you'd take as much time as you need until he calmed down.

"Really? Y-You're not… m-mad?" He took a deep breath of relief and visibly relaxed.

"Really. I won't hurt you, or make you sad just because of a little accident. You wouldn't hurt me on purpose, so I'm not mad. Now lets go inside; I wanna give you a tour of the house so you know where everything is, okay? I also don't want to get caught in the rain again."

"Oh.. okay. And… Y/N?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for everything. I… I can't say enough how happy I am. Today really feels like I'm still dreaming! Hehe. I'll try my best to be good here."

He looked up at you and you could see pure gratitude shining in his eyes as he gave you a breathtaking, adorable, perfect little smile that only angels from above could grace your unworthy mug with. Then, he did the thing that absolutely murdered your slowly-dying heart. He hugged you. You didn't know what to do at first; Not a lot of people in your life were really… huggy, so you froze, but then you hugged him back. God. You only knew this kid for an hour, but if something happened to him, you would raise hell.

"I love you, Y/N."

…Love? You literally just gave him the shittiest gifts in existence and he loves you. You were never really a person to believe in love. You thought love was giving a check every month so you could have some food money, or being a smiling sap whilst saying things like "I'll die for you" when the first person they'll save is themselves. You thought that it was about acting nice on the first date then being a piece of sh—at marriage, or being there in the dinner table and not saying anything or asking about school. With this in mind, you believed that you could go without it. Without anybody else but yourself.

So why is this kid any different? People have been shitting on him for almost all of his life, but you show him a bit of kindness and he loves you. Funny how that works; makes you feel like a petty excuse of a human. You're here complaining about internet services like fricken Jerry the neighbor, and he's had shit go down and trusts you with his life.

…

But maybe… Maybe you could do a little better. If not for yourself, then for him. You got a light in your life and you don't even know how to manage it. But you'll try. You'll try to be a smiling face for him, and give him the things he's probably never had before.

"…I love you too, kid." You pet his skull gently and he let out a sound akin to a purr, for some odd reason. His tail wagged cutely too.

"Um… Y/N?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think that human hands are supposed to bleed that much."

"Thaaat explains why I'm getting dizzy. Welp I think we should grab our things and get inside. Whadda'ya say?"

"Yes!"

You grabbed the bags (with your good hand, duh.) and he grabbed the small box he carried around. It was cute to see him pad over to the door with you since he was so short; every step of yours needed like six of his to catch up, but damn did he do a good job of keeping pace. Once you got over to the door, you set the bag on the ground for the moment and got out your keys, then you opened the door with a bit of effort; the doorknob had a little trick to opening it, where you had to wiggle it around for a bit until it finally opened. It wasn't really the best doorknob, but there was no way that you were forking over $6.50 to get a replacement, then paying a handyman to replace it.

Same went for many things in your life. Hence, the cracked bathroom mirror, the rusty skillet you'll never use but have never thrown out (That sometimes appears in your nightmares and makes you even more reluctant to touch it in fear of it possessing you.), the IKEA furniture that you tried to assemble in the most half-assed way possible until it was beyond repair and the screw-holes (god that sounded bad) wouldn't hold anything, the weird-looking stain in the bottom of one of your Dollar-tree mugs that might be stubborn mold or burnt-ceramic. The alarm clock that always shows your time and date exactly 19 hours, 39 minutes and 16 seconds late. The 'wish board' that you have, but have spent so long on trying to figure out what you want that it stayed forgotten in your closet. The dog plush that got a rip in it and still does because you're too lazy to sew it. The broken coffee mug that lost it's handle, but you sanded down to have a completely useless mug without a handle.

The still unpaid bills that you really need to take care of. Maybe you should pay them tonight. You should have stopped to get coffee… Well, you have a Keurig for a reason, so no need to panic. Just get out the useless mug for the occasion and you're set… once you dig the coffee maker out of your closet, that is.

You needed to fix your social life too, but uh.. aha… Yeah, let's not get into that.

"Y/N?"

Oh. Your hand was still on the doorknob. You didn't open the door yet, and you were standing here like an idiot while he was staring at you, probably wondering what the hell was wrong with the reclusive weirdo that is still on coffee-withdrawals and sleep-deprivation. Your insomnia was a wreck. Made you tired all day, all night. When you went to sleep you couldn't find it in you to actually sleep. The medications you got made you really cranky, so you tended to avoid them. Anime and tea tonight? Absolutely.

You could almost feel sorry for him. The only owner he got after so long is a pretty skewed person. You yearn for the day where you can set your priorities and actually go with them, but until then, you're totally spending your free time watching cheesy anime. Hm.. maybe you can watch Mew Mew Kissy Cutie tonight until you get tired to actually sleep and STAY sleeping. The anime is a whole other level of garbage, so it's perfect.

"Oh. Sorry about that, kiddy. I was daydreaming for a moment there."

"…You say sorry too much."

"Huh?" You said as you opened the door, placing your bags at the side as you put your jacket on the coat hanger.

"You say sorry too much, Y/N. You don't need to say sorry when you do nothing wrong."

He makes sense, Y/N. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Said the voice of reason.

"Fine; I'll try to stop saying sorry as often as I do, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Buuut on one condition."

"What?"

"You have to do the same. You haven't done anything wrong, so don't say sorry for no reason either. That will even it out. Deal?"

He looked at you, almost contemplative before smiling again. "Deal!"

"Attaboy! Now, I'll give you the tour. Right where we're standing is the living room. There's a sofa and a few pillows over there, as well as a soft blanket if you wanna get cozy. I know I do. The kitchen can be seen from over here too. I know, open floor plans rock."

"I like your house, Y/N!" He looked over at the living room with a few "Wows", making you feel better about your design choices for the house. Ha! Your self-esteem just went up by .001 percent! Eat that, Papyrus!

You were really jealous of the monster ambassador's confidence, okay?

"Over here is the door, of course. You're a little short to reach it, but I'm sure I can find a stool or something you can stand on if you want to open it."

"Thank you Y/N!"

"Anytime; it's your home after all. Gotta make sure you're comfortable. Follow me, hun."

You walked over to the bathroom and opened the door to give him a little tour of it too. By the looks of it, he would really need a bath; dirt was smudged on his skull, and those clothes of his could really use a wash as well as a bucket load of fabric softener. Hm.. Maybe you could try knitting a sweater or making some PJ's for him, since the clothes he got weren't really for sleeping. How do you even wash bones?

Well, no use trying to think about that now. You opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out the alcohol, cotton swabs and bandages.

"What are you going to do, Y/N?"

"I'm gonna bandage up my hand real quick, then I'll continue the tour, 'kay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry for biting you, Y/N."

"Psh, I've had cats that have bitten me more." And harder. And they keep doing it until you're down, then they go for the throat. And then you have to pull them off but they grab on with their little knife claws and make life hell until you call them master and feed them imported cat treats every day.

"Is that going to hurt you?" He asked in the most "I care about you" fashion.

"Nope." It totally will but because there's another person in this house now you'll just internalize the screaming. You got a cotton ball out, dipped it in the alcohol, then held it up over your hand. Okay Y/N. Put the cotton ball on the wound.

Aaaany moment now. It's not going to hurt, you pansy. Just take the cotton ball coated with the burning lakes of hell that will give you the pain of 20,000 stinging bees and put it on your hand, coward.

After a while of staring down the cotton ball in an attempt to gain dominance, you lost in the battle of wills and closed your eyes tightly before rubbing it on your hand quickly, but not painlessly.

After sharply inhaling while trying not to screech bloody murder, the deed had been done. Before you could blow on your hand to alleviate the stinging, you had to bandage it. Lets see… How did this go again? Put one end on the.. no, that's not right… Oh yeah, it was right. Then just wrap and wrap and wrap and- no that's too much wrapping, what are you, a mummy? Unwrap, keep unwrapping- okay that seems right. Poke your thumb through the bandages and wrap your wrist a bit for support… and there.

You know how to be a mummy for the future. After tying off the bandage you turned to face him.

"Now that I'm done with that, let's head upstairs. Oh.. They're a bit tall for you, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Don't worry, I got ya covered." You reached over and carefully picked him up as you headed upstairs, then set him down on the carpeting gently. He hugged you as you walked up. You needed to walk, not melt! Maybe you could carry him up for a few days until you get the staircase. He nipped you, making you yelp as you tried to balance yourself.

He started mumbling apologies and you consoled him for a good five minutes until he was calm again. Yep, you should definitely install a mini staircase on the side of it… Utmost priority right there.

"Okay, here's my bedroom. It's nothing really special, but you'll know where I am if you're worried about anything, so that's a plus, right?"

"Mmhmm. I like your bed."

"Why that's a coincidence; I like my bed too."

"Here's the closet; You can find board games, old toys, pillows, blankets, books, well, everything in here. Including my coffee maker.. Let me dig it out real quick." You set him down as you searched diligently for your fountain of energy potion. He walked in curiously and observed the mountain of shelved items that you stuffed in it randomly (mostly when you didn't know where to put things.).

"It's really colorful in here."

"I know, right? Maybe later we can play a board game, if it isn't too late. It probably is though, so we might need to give the board games a rain check until tomorrow."

"What's a board game for?"

"I'll show you when we play it. I think you're a 'game of life' kinda person."

You pulled out the old Keurig, (Which you'd named Edith, by the way.) and beckoned for the bitty to come.

"Check it out kid! Over here is my work area. I got my laptop, monitor, workstation and essentials, but if you want to draw or something, just ask! I got a few crayons and things you could use."

"I like drawing I think."

"I do it often too. It's pretty relaxing."

"Now, over here is the other bedroom. I guess it's yours, but I don't really have many furnishings that are bitty sized yet, so you'll have to stay in my room for now. That ok?"

"Yeah!"

"You're a good sport, kid. Well that makes everything about the house. It might be small, but it's a good size for the two of us, so we're good. The backyard doesn't really have a lot of space, but it also has a hammock, which is a plus. We can't really head over there now; we'd get really muddy. However, be careful. There's a lot of cats out there and I don't think that they're very friendly." You had way too many close calls with the cats around the neighborhood to know that.

"That can't be very good."

"Trust me pal, It isn't. Now, do you wanna take a bath? It's pretty late and I don't think you should be up at this time. I usually find it easier to sleep after a warm bath and soft clothes, but it's your decision, not mine."

"A bath sounds really good. And… Soft clothes sound good too. Thank you."

"Anytime, pal. I'll try and think of a name as well; Can't keep calling you pal or kid for long, right?"

"I'm happy with any name, Y/N."

"Hm.. I could name you Chance or Chomper, maybe Dusk… Or maybe something cute like Teddy. What name do you like best?"

"I don't really know… Nobody really asks what name we want. They usually just pick one for you."

"I don't really agree with that; you're your own person, and you should pick your name. You'll be going by the same name for all your life, (Well, you can change your name if you don't like it much afterwards, just please don't change it too much I have goldfish memory.)"

"That makes sense… Thanks for letting me pick out a name, Y/N."

"Like I said, anytime. So, what's your choice?"

"I like Teddy a lot. It's easy to say and I like the sound of it."

"You're also shaped like a teddybear, so it's even more fitting." He smiled shyly.

"Well then Teddy, let's head over to the bathroom. I'll run a warm bath for you and see if I can get your clothes washed."

"Okay Y/N." You both walked over to the bathroom and you started to run the bath. "Do you prefer warm or cool water?"

"Warm please."

"Gotcha. You're like me in that aspect, ya know. Who doesn't love a nice warm bath, that's what I wanna know." You also put in some bubble bath. Don't ask why you have bubble bath, just don't. the foam is fun to play with, okay?

"Ooh, bubbles! I didn't know you had bubble bath here! I thought that was only for kids."

Teddy used "Common sense"!

It was a critical hit!

"W-Well then, do you need help bathing or no?" If he was an adult you wouldn't help him out, but he's young and might not know how to do so, what with everybody wanting to bathe bitties even when they're adults.

"Yes please." Wait, how do you wash bones again? You recalled it being in one of the care manuals you got from the store, so maybe you would need a refresher on that for now.

"Okay, let me just go get something while you get in the bath, okay?"

"Okay Y/N. Wait.. Y/N?"

"Mm?"

"Can I give you a nickname too?"

"Sure. Shoot."

"Boo. That's your nickname."

"Boo? I thought you were the monster here."

"Nuh uh. Boo." He seemed to be gaining confidence when talking to you, so that was a good sign.

"Boo it is! Good taste in nicknames, Teddy."

"Hehe."

You walked out and left the door slightly open, just so he wouldn't feel anxious about being stuck inside. Then you looked around for the bags and searched them until you found a bitty care manual. Lessee' here.. Lamias, Elementals, Varied monsters whose names you didn't know and didn't care about… Aha! Skeletons. Hm… "To bathe, use a non-abrasive brush with soft bristles and work out any dirt. With joints, try to scrub around and make sure not to get any water or soap in your Bitty's eye sockets or nasal cavity. Always ask for your bitty's consent or approval in any situation, including bathing."

Well, That was thorough. You didn't really feel comfortable with washing the more intimate parts for him, so you'd have to tell him to do those parts himself, even if it was just bones to you. You got out a soft facial-cleansing brush that was way too weak to get gunk out of your face, a microfiber towel, and a sponge. By the time you had gone back to the bathroom, he was playing with the bubbles and looked at you with a silly expression. And a bubble beard. His tail wagged playfully. The entire scene was adorable.

"Pff, you look silly, Tedds."

"I know, it's just really funny to play with." He giggled a bit and you gave in.

"Okay, make me a beard too. I better look handsome or I'll ask for a refund."

"Really? Okay!" You leaned over and he went to work, scooping up some of the blue bubbles and layering it on your face until you had a beard worthy of a lumberjack named Bob who lives in the woods with his wife Marie and has three kids named Bill, Clyde, and Annie.

You looked at your reflection with the mirror on your medicine cabinet and laughed at yourself. God did you look stupid. You missed having someone to laugh with.

Teddy looked proud with his handiwork and you grinned at him. Things wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Hehe. Now check this out Teddy; I'll show you how to make a bubble with just your hand and some soap…"

After a while, you finally gave Teddy a well-deserved bath. He looked shiny and well, smelled 'shiny' too. You dried him off with a spare towel you had and brought him his new clothes, which arguably seemed better to use as PJ's than doll clothes. You know it's true. You were really, really tired. You probably wouldn't sleep well tonight. But.. In just a few hours of you knowing this kid, you already feel like your life has changed for good. How does that work?

"C'mon Teddy. Let's go to sleep. It's already 1 AM and I don't want you ruining your sleep schedule."

"Okay..." It was more of a sleepy murmur than anything. You picked him up gently and he hugged you sleepily, while blessedly not nipping you more than a soft nom here and there. You went up the stairs and tucked him in your bed; only to find that he was already fast asleep.

"Goodnight, Teddy."

You closed the door slightly so that the light from the hallway wouldn't disturb him.

"…Night.. mama.."

You walked back into the living room and started to work. Papers, bills, credit card bills, et-fucking-cetera. You could safely say that bills of any kind gave you hives. After paying what you could, you went on Amazon.

Time to get Bitty furniture.


	3. I'm kinda broken now, can you fix me?

**_A grocery trip!_**

**_*May include sadness, motivational speeches, and screeching at 8 am.*_**

* * *

The first time he was adopted was when he was five. It was around the age where bitties are supposed to be put up for adoption since they don't need their mamas anymore. That's what the humans said... but...

… He misses his mama, even though he doesn't remember her much. He has many brothers and sisters still, but he doesn't know where they are yet. He knows she was really pretty and nice all the time, even though she looked at the humans with a mad look. She would tell him that she wasn't mad at him, and was just thinking about something.

She would tell him stories about how it was outside, with grasses and meadows and houses. She would talk about the sun, and how it warms you up and shines brighter than the lights outside the cage. She would talk about what they would do once she got out with him, and to wait a little bit longer until that day.

He was put in a cage. At first, he cried a lot. He wanted her back! She didn't react much, maybe because that happened to his brothers and sisters too. But what he'd never forgotten, was when she said "Be a brave boy now, _. Everything is going to be okay. I'll be there soon and we'll go outside together." So he knew she would. Mama never lied to him before. So he tried being brave, even though he was scared. He wasn't alone before.

He would give anything to see her again, but he already knew she wasn't there anymore. The humans called her "Breeding fodder". He didn't know what it meant, but it sounded bad… real bad.

Then they put on a muzzle. He screamed, but the humans didn't like that very much. They shook him around until he stopped and became quiet. Then they put it on. That muzzle was made of plastic, lightweight so his head could carry it.

He hated that the most out of everything.

He got used to the silence after a week or two, then one day, he saw a girl. She squealed and looked at him with a happy look, then ran to her mama and papa to do something. They signed a lot of papers with a pen, and he got out of the cage. Everything happened so fast. He got outside for the first time. He enjoyed it all, the smell of fresh air, the sounds of wheeled-metal things whooshing past the road, and the sight of the little girl, who eagerly gave him a shiny new ribbon from her bow. He saw the sun and forgot that his mama wasn't there too.

His first owners were good people. They treated him well and gave him good food and clothes. He was family to them, with a new mama and papa and big sister. Everything was perfect, like a dream.

Until it wasn't anymore.

Because the little girl took off his muzzle, and he bit her when she went to pet him. He wasn't used to holding back, because he never had the need to.

She went to the hospital, he went to the shelter. With an inch-thick crack in his skull. It's healed now, leaving just a hairline-scar… but…

It was there that he found out he was dangerous. The muzzle was replaced with a metal one.

His second owner wasn't as nice. He had many dogs, large ones too. They liked to bite him a lot because he's boney.

He doesn't remember a lot from that owner.

His third owner hit him. She screamed a lot and called him a monster. The bad kind.

He was in a cage there.

He remembers even less from there.

His fourth owner got hurt a lot by her papa. So she hit him.

Why can't he remember anything else?

All he remembers from the other owners is... hurt.

* * *

He wakes up to the sun rising above and shining through the curtains. He feels the soft fabric of new clothes and blankets. He has a small pillow tucked under his head. Was he dreaming? Or is this a dream? He doesn't even have a muzzle on!

That's what usually what he thought when he didn't wake up to a dark cage that didn't let the sunshine in.

It was almost surreal. He was happy. He was finally free. He woke up to something other than ratty clothes and the sound of many other incarcerated bitties that would get chosen over him.

But how long would this last? A week? A month? A… a year? The thought made his soul pang, leaving a familiar ache of sadness, fear, and detachment. He brushed it off, bottling up the feeling. He was going to enjoy it while it lasted. At least this was a nice home, a good person, and no muzzle. That's more than he could ask for.

He took a deep breath of the sweet-smelling air and sighed, stretching and hearing the pleasant popping of his joints. He was adopted. He has a nice owner. He has a name now.

Teddy.

That's his name. He tries to ingrain it into his memory, so he never forgets it like his other names. Just so that he'll never forget it if… they take him back. This is the best home he's had so far, so even if they do, he won't forget them.

Teddy. It's his favorite word besides Y/N. He isn't just "purebite" or "thing" or "Bitty" or "Skeleton". No. He's teddy now, and he's so happy. It's a feeling he hasn't felt in a long time and he relishes it. Just feeling nothing but happiness, no pain, no hurt, no sadness.

He belongs again.

And he starts crying, laughing, giggling and then starts sobbing. It's a mixed cocktail of emotions that he's blocked himself from feeling for so long. But now he's here. He's safe. They weren't even mad when he bit them. They never even hit him once either.

He's so happy.

And he never wants it to end.

* * *

Well. You marathoned through four movies, watched two episodes of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie before your gag reflex kicked in, bought some bitty furniture, clothes, PJ's and other goodies, and blessedly got tired enough to snag two hours of sleep on the couch before you woke up at- lessee here… 7:30 Am.

Progress.

You kicked off the sofa throw and realization struck you; Shit. You need to make breakfast. You have a kid now. Did he wake up? Is he asleep? Should you make pancakes? Do you even have enough pancake mix? Is it bad if he hasn't eaten any actual protein in a while?

Shitshitshit-

Even though no sane child would wake up at this hour, you should have been prepared! (Oh. Every sane child wakes up at this hour. School, duh. Wait, Do bitties even have school?)

You made a mad dash over to the kitchen and yanked open the fridge door (That was totally not adorned with waifu-magnets. Because only a person with absolutely no standards would put that on their fridge. Hahahahaaaaa.)

Empty, save for a very, very unappealing carrot that oddly looked like your ex-coworker, a bunch of other vegetables that seem haunted and started dripping a probably (definitely) toxic liquid, dog-shaped cookies that were probably stale (but you were still going to be eating, because that cost you a good 7 bucks and they were Halloween themed), and a LOT of chocolate milk.

An unhealthy amount, even.

Maybe your energy-levels are shit because half of your life has been spent while drunk on chocolate milk. Made more sense than your other theories. *Cough*alien mind-control*Cough*

Well, It seems like a grocery trip was in order, especially if you want to give him anything healthy to eat for breakfast.

Okay, maybe a bit of junk food too. But not too much!

.

.

.

Yeah, You're totally going to buy five bags of chips. You're calling it now. Self-control died back when you had your own credit card.

Because you live on the edge.

You heard sleepy shuffling coming from upstairs. Looks like Teddy got up.

"Um... Mam- Y/N. Can you help me get downstairs, please?"

"Sure. I'll be right there Tedds." You walked up to the stairs and picked him up gently. No biting huh? Perfect. Today has been going unexpectedly smooth, and for some reason, you weren't feeling the incoming dread of something screwing that up.

Which meant that something else was definitely going to screw it up.

Ha, you think you got me, life? You thought wro- shit! You tripped on your own foot and stumbled madly down the last three steps, holding Teddy out of the falling-range.

This is what happens when you try and spite life. It'll spite you back and drop a loogie in your cheerios, then mix skittles in your M&M's to make something horrendously fruity and chocolaty.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Is everything good so far? More importantly, did you sleep well?"

"Yeah! Let's do it again!"

Tail? Wagging.

Smile? Still there.

Hotel? No memes until you've had coffee, thanks.

"I slept really well up there. Your bed is really comfy too. It's a bit too tall though."

"I'll have to get a stool for you to get on the bed and back safer. I'm glad you slept well despite that. "

"Thanks, Boo."

"Anytime Teddy."

He seemed rather absentminded, thinking about something, perhaps?

"You okay, Tedds?" he looked at you sheepishly.

"Um… I'm kinda hungry.."

He's hungry. Of course, he's hungry. Anyone who is rational would be hungry.

"Well about that… we have to go get some groceries to make breakfast. You okay with that, Tedds?"

"M'kay. By the way, did you sleep well?" His head tilted a little in curiosity. Another tick to the cute meter. But that made it just that much harder to lie to him.

"I slept… Adequately...?"

"That doesn't sound like you slept well." He pouted, just a bit. Which is weird, considering the lack of lips. Eh, let's just say he pouted.

"Like I said, I'll go to the shower now. Hm… Keep yourself entertained by watching some TV. What kind of shows do you like?"

"Umm… I like Sesame Street."

You didn't think you could die more from the cuteness. You were wrong.

"Gotcha! I'll go put it on. Feel free to be as comfortable as you want- this is your home now!" You set him on the sofa, put on Sesame Street, and gave him a quick run-through on the TV remote functions, then you ran into the shower to do your thing.

* * *

He watched Boo go upstairs, then he got comfortable on the sofa. It was really soft to sit on, maybe she wore it down by sitting on it a lot.

He saw Elmo on the piano and began to sing.

* * *

Phew. You got out of the shower- feeling less drowsy and much less grimy, then you walked into your bedroom and got out some casuals. Lets see here.. jeans? Totally. Iconic and slightly meme-y sweater? You bet. Uncombed hair that turned into a curly mess with the water yesterday? You aren't even going to try combing through that mane of yours. You pocketed your credit card and grabbed a bunch of coupons, then you headed over to where Teddy was.

Turns out he really liked Elmo. He was singing one of the songs from the show and bouncing in place, tail wagging and everything. It was the most comfortable you had seen him in the entire time since you met him. You don't regret saving him, so there, anxiety.

{Anxiety has blocked you from the chat.}

Jeez, cranky, aren't we?

He noticed you only when you grabbed your keys; maybe the jingle was something he couldn't help but pay attention to from his days at the shelter.

"Oh! Hiya Y/N. Are we going yet?" He looked at you with a curious look, and you noticed something extra cute.

His eyes are gaining some color. Before they used to be pure white. The little eyelights shone a faint lilac. Purple suits him.

"Boo?"

"Huh- Oh yeah! Do you want to go in those clothes, or do you want to keep those just for sleeping only?

"I think I want to put on my other clothes. I don't want to get these dirty outside- it's not going to be as fun to sleep on."

"Okay then Tedds. I'll get your other clothes and we'll go."

You got up the stairs, grabbed the extra set of clothes from the shopping bag, as well as the Bitty diet booklet. Could come in useful.

"Now, let's go to the car. You ready, teddy?"

"That rhymed! I'm ready Y/N."

"Perfect. And hey, it did rhyme. Good ear." You opened the door, quickly checked to see if you had everything once more, and you got out. You waited for him to catch up as you locked the door, and you headed over to the sedan.

"I don't have ears."

"Just a metaphor, hon."

"Okay. I haven't seen this car in the daytime before. It looks pretty." Everything is pretty for this kid. You opened the door for him and helped him get in the car, then you walked in and saw the familiar sight of the muzzle in the backseat. Fuck this thing. You tossed it in the trash outside and started the car.

You remember when you got this car. You got it used from your neighbor for $10,000, then took 3 months to pay it off in full.

You called her Patricia. The car, that is. Ol' Patty has been with you for a long time, through thick and thin, long voyages of going to that one good pizza place, and the shorter, wonderful times of going to the game store and getting a cheap, horrible indie that you can laugh about later. She's a dear, that Pat.

You headed through the familiar route to the supermarket; passing by the plaza as you did so. Teddy saw it and grew nervous, but once he saw that you had passed it, he visibly calmed down.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself, Teddy. It's better if we get to know each other more, right?"

"Um... Okay. What would you like to know, Boo?"

"How about your likes and dislikes?"

"Well… I really like soft and nice things, and I'm happy with everything but I don't really feel happy around big dogs. I also really like kitties. Oh! And my favorite food is pizza."

OH NO. HE MATCHES YOUR STANDARDS! This kid is gonna be the death of you. Wait- what'd he say about cats?

"Now it's your turn!"

"My turn, huh?" You turned to the parking lot.

"I guess I like peace and quiet a lot. Don't really like a lot of disturbance, and I keep to myself most of the time. I also like watching shows and stuff, maybe a casual video game or two. As for my favorite food, it's a tie between anything dessert-y or fat-filled."

"That sounds very unhealthy, I think."

"Oh, It is."

You turned into the parking lot and went into the spot closest to the supermarket, then you opened the door for Teddy and undid his seatbelt. He seemed like he didn't know what to do in a parking lot, so you carried him until you found a cart outside the supermarket.

Maybe you could just put him in the kid's seat? You adjusted the cart and gently placed him in the front section of the cart. He seemed to get the idea and put his legs through the front, then he smiled goofily.

"This is fun!" He swung his short legs over the edge of the seat and smiled at you.

"You're really optimistic, Teddy." You said as you entered the store. Lessee… You would need to get some meats or protein-rich foods for Teddy, maybe some snacks… (Totally some snacks.) veggies that won't rot in your fridge, maybe a soda. You definitely need to get some healthy stuff for Teddy. The pamphlet mentioned purebites growing more after a certain age. …Would you need to get him calcium-rich food?

He's a skeleton after all… Hm...

You were never fit to be a caretaker.

You can't even take care of yourself properly.

There's always going to be someone better than you.

You aren't good enough.

"Boo?"

You looked down to see a concerned Teddy staring back at you. For a moment you paused, agape in thought before smiling. You have to be a good role model for him. Don't mess up.

"Nothing, Tedds. Now, I'll hand you the checklist and you'll tell me what we'll need to get. How's that sound?"

"Sounds fun!" His eyes shone a little brighter and he eagerly grabbed the checklist that, let's be honest, was really big for him to hold. Still, he was determined to be helpful and began listing off some of the… words..?

His cheerful face grew confused, then frustrated. He looked at the words from top to bottom but had that face. The face you made when your college made you do calculus once upon a time. Frustrating you to the point of complacency and simple at-home jobs so you could enjoy all the time you were missing out on.

"Heh, I get it. My handwriting is chicken-scratch." No response. He kept trying to understand what your writing meant.

Or… Was he trying to understand what the letters meant?

But... now that you thought about it… Did bitties ever get a proper education? Or were they just there to sit still and look cute for people to buy them off?

Why would a small pet shop in a dingy plaza ever want to pay to educate them?

"Teddy… You don't know how to read, don't you?"

He flinched, just slightly and didn't want to look up at you. He must have heard this before. "I… I don't... Nobody taught me before… and I... just..." he trailed off weakly.

You felt a sort of ice-cold dread wash over you. The kind of feeling when you know something isn't as it seems. "Owning" bitties. The concept has been seen through rose-tinted glasses, making it seem like owning a dog or cat instead of another being that's being deprived of education, independence, and is forced into being sold off like toys. You wanted to rip that damned pet system to shreds. Teddy seemed to notice your irritation and thought you were mad at him.

"I… I can be good at other things though!" He looked up at you with faded-white eyelights, no more purple.

"Teddy wait-"

"I know I'm not too smart, or tough or mean or cute, but I-I can be useful too!"

He had the numb-kind of sadness. Part of it is disbelief and another part is hurt. Yet, when you feel like that you can't bring yourself to cry. Because you cried those kinds of tears before until they ran out.

"An-an' I can do anythin' you want! Honest! I-"

"Nonono shh, Teddy it's okay!"

"*hic* B-but- I- *hic*"

"Teddy, I'm not mad, for real! Please don't cry-"

He started whispering incoherent apologies and you got him out of the cart and back into the car before people thought you were abusing him or something. Then he really started crying.

You sighed. Dammit, now he thinks you're mad at him. This is why you shouldn't deal with kids, Y'N. You screw everything up sooner or later.

Once you were in your car, you pulled him into a comforting hug. "Teddy, please don't be sad. I don't think you're bad, or dumb or anything like that." He started calming down a bit, but his bones were shaking like a sort of rattle.

So you stayed in the car. For as long as you needed to. You didn't say much, he didn't either. You just stayed there, holding him close and petting his skull until he calmed down completely.

"You feel better, Tedds?"

"…mhm."

You gave him a reassuring grin.

"I'll teach you how to read. I'll teach you everything I know, and then you won't have to worry about anyone thinking you're not smart!"

He looked at you in the same kind of disbelief for a few tense moments and stayed silent. Maybe he didn't want to respond, maybe he didn't know what to say.

Until he gave you that million-dollar smile with tears still in his eyesockets as he looked at you with a sort of will to go on.

Purple.

Perseverance.

"Let's go back and get our groceries. YOU WITH ME TEDDY?"

"Y-YEAH!"

"REPEAT AFTER ME!"

"OKAY!"

"I'M NOT DUMB!"

"I..I'M NOT DUMB!"

"I'M VERY SMART!"

"I'M VERY SMART!"

...

Needless to say, it went on for quite a while.

So that's how everyone kept staring at you guys in the parking lot at 8 am. Maybe they were also a bit scared.

Of your self-confidence, that is. You walked in with Teddy in the front cart looking like a pair of badasses shopping for some food and maybe some pop tarts, you wouldn't know. Regardless, you grabbed the list and proceeded to check off the items from the overly complicated set of words.

Snack foods were crossed out and then re-written on said list, making it reek with denial. Sadly, you knew that you wouldn't hesitate to grab the snacks once you passed them.

It's basically inevitable.

You looked where Teddy was looking to see if anything caught his eye, but then you saw it. He looked at it with such a wide-eyed expression that it was impossible not to miss. A small but fluffy-looking plush dinosaur with different colored patches on it and cute little eyes. They always had these little plushies in the supermarket at this time of year, but you never really felt more inclined to buy one until now.

Mostly because of the eyes on some of them kinda… follow you.

And also because you've never passed by this particular section without running (away) frantically until you reach the icecream aisle. Speaking of which…. Frozen pizza is a must. You wrote it down haphazardly in the list, then you went over to the stand.

He saw you walk over to the stand and you picked the exact one he was looking at, giving it to him at his spot on the cart.

He looked from the plush to you and back again, wide-eyed and not knowing whether to smile or to squeal.

he immediately hugged the plush tight and bounced in his seat, then began to play with his new toy. Or maybe he was just petting it. *Insert 'I dunno' sound here*. You grabbed some bitty supplements in the pet aisle. Bones shouldn't look that thin. Or maybe it's because he's young? Gosh, you needed to google more about this.

It was nice. Kids are… refreshing to be around. You felt kind of teary. You grabbed some more chocolate milk as well as some yogurt and cheez fizz.

Ah, cheez fizz. Fun to make mustaches out of. Even more, fun to eat. Not as fun to digest (You're jealous of the younger you with a stomach of steel). But dammit if it isn't worth it. Scratch that, make it two cans of fizz. And one of whipped cream. And a tub of ice cream across the aisle.

"Tedds, what's your favorite ice cream?"

"Strawberry." He said as he pretended that the stuffed dino (Which he had named "Rexy", by the way) was eating the groceries.

Neopolitan it is then.

…

Maybe one day you'll be crazy enough to make a disgusting concoction of cheez fizz, whipped cream and ice cream, then eat it.

Well, you melted junior mints into a Slurpee one time… Still, that was a huge blow for you... Decisions, decisions.

Maybe this is why your dignity has gone away for an indefinite vacation… while also making it so you couldn't get the security deposit. Asshole.

Then again, it could also be the anime, or the sound of cats furiously mating outside your backyard at three am. Now that you think of it, you should soundproof Teddy's room before he loses a chunk of his sanity listening to get some pu-.

Wait- You're running out of cat food at home. Crap, better get some before they find you worthy as a sacrifice instead. You might want to cat-proof your home again. Teddy's like 1/5th your size. If those damned cats got you on your knees…

You shuddered at the thought, buying cat treats as well. Just in case they make it into your home.

Don't want that happening again.

Now, what left…

Veggies that won't rot in less than a week, check.

Bread, check.

Snacks, hm... You grabbed a box of Rice Krispies. Perfect. Check. And marshmallows. Pff- Teddy looks like a marshmallow. Anyway...

Cheese, check.

Sacrificial dried-nuggets for the hellspawns outside of your house, check.

…and wet food. They get angry without wet food. ...Also, check.

Ah, crap- pizza. You made a mad dash- (which made Teddy start pretending that the cart was a rollercoaster)- into the frozen foods aisle, then you got a few boxes of pizza.

…A few, because you couldn't fit too much stuff in your freezer. It's sad, but you have already spent your tears on that matter.

You should get another freezer while convincing the hopeful/delusional part of you that you're going to use the space to buy frozen berries and start juicing again.

Ha.

That juicing phase only lasted you an hour once you drank the concoction you made.

So you used your juicer for other things and more important deeds.

Like shredding photos of your exes. Your body felt way healthier doing that.

By the time you had gone and finished the list, it was already 10 Am.

"I'm hungryyyy" whined Teddy.

"Sameeeee." You also whined. Because you can.

"…"

"…"

"Pizza?"

"Yeah."

The groceries were in the car and you started driving home. You didn't want Teddy to get nervous about you driving to that plaza, so you decided to order it to your house and drive over. They delivered in about 30 minutes, just enough time for you to get the groceries in.

You put the groceries in the back and helped Teddy get in the car. He was so preoccupied with his stuffed animal that he didn't even try to nip you. He pretended that the little dino wanted to be his friend and they had fun talking about what they liked doing.

You called the pizzeria, then headed home.

* * *

It took a while to put away the groceries, but not too long. Teddy helped you by grabbing the smaller things and giving them to you, while you emptied out your fridge and reluctantly cleaned it out, scrubbing out the muck with a spare sponge.

What? You're not THAT lazy.

Then you put everything away and stored the shopping bags to use sometime.

The doorbell rang and you got out a twenty, then you paid and set the box on the coffee table.

"Yay pizza!"

"Heck yeah pizza!" The two of you cheered as you got out paper plates and sat on the sofa. "Okay Teddy, I'll teach you the best way to enjoy being at home. Step one, relax."

"I'm relaxed I think!"

"Perfect. Then get a blanket." You put the sofa throw on top of the both of you, while also putting a few napkins under Teddy's plate, just in case he spilled anything on the blanket.

"Third, Watch a movie!"

"What are we watching?"

"Something PG, of course. I'm thinking something like Disney. Hey! You ever watch Coco?"

"No?"

"Now I bring you to my last step. Turn off the lights and put on the movie while eating."

..

Teddy got the hang of it really soon. He also commented on how funny the skeletons in the movie looked. Hey, you were a fan of ironic situations, don't judge. It took a while, but he got pretty drowsy after eating and slept through the ending, hugging his dino plushie. You looked back at him from your spot at the other side of the sofa, then smiled.

Normally, you would spend the morning doing nothing and seeing what you could eat, and if there was nothing to do, you'd just do nothing until the afternoon to start working.

Maybe he saved you, in a way. You turned off the TV and went to feed the cats (Because they still need food too), then you laid down at the opposite side of the sofa.

In just one day, you found family.

...

You should try getting out that wish-board again...

* * *

_**Let me know what you think! :D**_

_**(Also, to avoid any further confusion, Teddy nicknamed Y/N "Boo" because A. It was a name suggestion I didn't wanna go to waste, and B. Typing Y/N over and over is going to give me an aneurysm.**_

_**Thank you, you beautiful people for reading, and virtual cookies to all ( 3) ~3 3**_


	4. You always learn something new

Anxiety. It's a more familiar feeling than you'd like to think. You took a liking to giving It a face. An identity with a name that you could blame and fight back against, even though it was more of a one-sided battle at times.

Sometimes it was so bad, you thought that your next breath would be your last. chest heaving, lungs squeezing and chest tight, pulse heard in your ears and cold sweat on your forehead. The last time you were in a very large crowd just fucked you over.

You tried to pretend that your anxieties were a separate entity from you, a thing that would always keep trying to get you down, so you wouldn't let it.

You tried to keep it in check, going to a consultant, getting help and whatnot, but you would never stay for more than a few weeks.

People made you nervous. Very much so. You didn't like them staring, you could always feel their disappointment as they looked at you. It's fake. They all hate you. You disappointed them somehow. They know. They know how you'll screw things up Y/N.

There were nights where you couldn't sleep because of those kinds of worries. You quit your office job and got into a home job. Wasn't easy, but you made it work. Found a way to make money by doing artwork, so you had that going for you, even though it was anything but a stable profession.

In a way.. you were scared. You had to get out into the world but it was so much easier to lie back, avoid crowds and come and go when the least amount of people were there.

But you felt alone.

Nobody there. Nobody to talk to. Nobody but yourself to keep company. Well, you and the cashier from the supermarket who always says nothing but "receipt" as she smacks her gum and looks at you with a look that could be translated into "Biiiiiitch I ain't got no time for your bullshit." Maybe she can only say "receipt", but her expression says more than words can ever convey.

Sadly, she's the only person in charge of the express line. But hey, it's fun to tell which kind of gum she's chewing.

Your track record with cats was pretty messy, and you didn't really like keeping animals trapped in your house.

So basic, dry human interaction was the only thing you were capable of doing with other people without getting too worked up.

But a bitty?

No, you'd screw that up even more. You didn't think of anything that you could mess up, but you know they'd come eventually. You're a trainwreck of a person who's barely holding at the seams.

**You'll never get better.**

* * *

Sleep. This is what your body craved. It was nighttime, 12:30 to be exact.

Overworking. This is what your body was getting instead of the sweet, sweet sleep it so deserved, and you, like an asshole, were pretty much giving a big ole' fuck you and your organs.

The more self-caring part of you said Wait! just think about your poor, poor heart, working since the day you were born and- yadda yadda yadda. This won't stop you from eating the shit you want.

But anyway, here you are. Having nothing better to do than to look up at the ceiling while Teddy is curled up on the other side of the sofa. His little tail wagged softly, up, down, over, around. Cuuuute.

You see his small torso rise and fall, but the process confused you. Does he even have lungs, or a nose to begin with? Where does the air go? Why does he need air?

Maybe you should kill some time reading about this instead. But nah. You don't wanna do anything now. You sipped on some cocoa (No marshmallows, because sadly eating too many at night gave you horrible indigestion. Your stomach of steel betrayed you, giving you a midlife crisis by the time you were 19.) and looked around. The house is pretty neat, really. Well, most of the mess is stuffed in the closet though, where you can't even bother yourself thinking about what you have holed up in there.

Who knows, maybe you could even find something cool in that darn closet.

Anyway, you got off of the couch very softly, trying not to disturb Teddy in the slightest; even though… he's a pretty heavy sleeper by the looks of it. That makes things easier, you supposed. You picked him up gently and carried him up the stairs and over to your bed. The bitty furniture would come in soon, but sadly you weren't the type to pay for one-day shipping. Sad for you, but not sad for your bank account. Once you had him tucked in, and you made sure that the door was slightly open in case he wanted to go out, you went over to the kitchen and got out the cat food. They were usually outside by now.

You got out a couple of large bowls and food cans, then filled another bowl with water and took everything outside. There. A cat came over and nuzzled your leg deceivingly, but you weren't falling for that trickery! Ha!

You got inside and had nothing else to do. Teddy was asleep like any other sane person (though he was noticeably tired at the same time of the pet store's closing time) and you already did everything you wanted to do for today.

You should really get a hobby.

Well, you learn something every day! You eyed the little box of candies Teddy brought you, but you preferred to eat those with him. You pulled out your phone and searched "HOW TO KNIT" unsurprised to see a bunch of results come up. It's time to show yourself that you aren't wasting your money on things you'll never use from Amazon!

You got the video up and ready aaand-

You need to dig your knitting set out from your closet.

Fuck.

* * *

After a long, LONG time of searching, getting distracted by whatever you found in the closet, then going back to what you needed to do after a half an hour of speculating and remembering things, you finally dug out your knitting needles, multicolored yarn (Which was a cool alternating black and white), your sewing it, and your radio, headphones, extra-fuzzy socks (You never get excited to wear these socks psh who would be happy to wear socks no matter how cool they are hahahahaha), music CDs you kept just because, and last but not least, your torn dog plushie.

It's time.

You headed back to the living room a stumbling but giddy mess because hey, you were finally doing this!

It was 5:30 AM.

You spent five fucking hours on this.

Oh.

Might as well make sure it wasn't spent in vain!

Fuck you anxiety!

*Anxiety has sent a new message.*

'But what if it fucks you back for saying that?'

Haha no.

'But what if-'

I said B Y E.

*Anxiety has blocked you from the chat.*

Once you were set up, had your snacks, drawing tablet *For sketching out designs duh*, socks, radio, and everything else mentioned ready, with everything so comfortable that there was no way for you to have any excuse to get up-

You need to pee.

Fuck.

Okay-ok- you got everything ready again, got yourself comfortable again, made sure everything was nice and diddly-dandy, but then your phone rang. What? Nobody you know would be in their right minds to call you at this time. If your stepmother needs a loan you swear-

It's 9 AM. And that was no ringtone, but an alarm to get up to go to the supermarket. You see, you had a bad habit of setting alarms for the whole week once you said you were doing something on a specific day, just for the chance that you missed it. You forgot to turn it off.

And Teddy started hopping down the staircase like a champ, saying that he was hungry and asking about what they were going to eat. "Oh wow. What's all of that? Are you going to make something?"

You laughed.

You giggled.

You cried.

Story of your life right here.

"Are you okay Boo?"

"Yep. Yepyepyepyepyep- I'm fine. How about we make the classic bacon and eggs, but with pancakes on the side?"

"I like that! I remember bacon!"

"Who can forget it amirite?"

* * *

Teddy nibbled on the bacon, smiling to himself, just a little. He had eaten most of the food but seemed to just indulge in the rest of it; you did the same thing once upon a time. Now you just shovel it. Maybe your body is trying to tell you to stop trying to substitute food for energy, but you told your body to do a lot of things before; it can't expect to demand things all of a sudden, gosh. Bodies are so entitled, thinking they're temples.

"Hey Boo, are we going to do something today?"

"Yeah; I'm thinking of calling a Tutor later to be able to teach you. It'll be fun! You'll be able to learn from home, and I'll hire a real nice one so you can have fun while you're being taught."

He seemed a bit unsure. "I think you'd be a better teacher. You're nicer."

"You wouldn't know that, Tedds. C'mon, let's give the tutor thing a chance, okay? If you don't like it, we can opt for a better option. Right?" You aren't good enough.

You'd mess things up trying to teach him.

You'd fail.

It would be your fault.

"Y-Yeah. I like that."

"That's great Tedds! You're pretty brave, you know that?"

"Really?" Tail wag. All the tail wags.

"Yeah! Bravest kid in Ebbot for sure. " You pet his head softly and his eyes widened happily.

"I'll make you proud, mom!" He doesn't even realize that he let the word slip out. You don't mind.

Mom, huh?

Well, fuck. You're gonna be the best mom. Better call yourself Karen, because you're totally taking this kid. Okay fine that one was messed up.

"I'm sure you will, Tedds."

* * *

You call the tutor a while after, but she laughs when you say she'll teach a bitty, and a purebite nonetheless.

"HAHA! You- You've gotta be kidding me! Those illiterate things can't learn shit, lady! BAHAHAHAHA-"

You hang up and try again. The tutor looks more professional, but he politely declines in a professional way, saying that you should opt to paying to train the bitty instead. You become grossed out at the thought and you hang up.

You call another tutor. They raise the prices because it's a bitty, then when you mention that they'll teach a purebite, they hang up.

What is up with these people?!

You looked back at Teddy, who was playing with the dino plushie. He could talk to you perfectly well- sure, he stumbled on a few words here and there, but he's a freaking eight year old, what more can you expect of him?

You called one last tutor. You begged for them not to hang up and to just hear you out. You tell him that Teddy can learn, and has been learning all this time. You explain that he has been very adaptive and can absorb new concepts easily. He stays on the line for a moment, listening to your claims before he interrupts you.

"Look, I'm sorry, but in this world, bitties weren't made to learn. It's like trying to teach a toy how to do their ABC's, and I don't think anyone will want to do what you're asking right now unless they want to scam you out of a couple hundred bucks."

"Life is cruel that way."

He hangs up before you can speak. The sound of the hang up tone lingers with you even after you put down the home phone.

Teddy notices your sour mood and walks up to you, grabbing a fistful of the soft fabric of your pajama pants and giving it a light tug to grab your attention. "You okay, Boo?"

"I'm fine… I just.."

You looked at him to see him staring at you worriedly, little lilac eyes shining back with a faint glow.

"It's like trying to teach a toy how to do their ABC's."

A toy.

"…Teddy, why is the world so… mean sometimes?" you muttered.  
He looked at you a bit more before sitting down next to your legs and hugging the plush next to himself for comfort of sorts.

"I.. I don't know. I think it's because… maybe people are hurting, and they want others to know that they're hurting, so they make them hurt too. It's not really good, but you have to remember. If nobody is going to be good, you can at least try to be good instead… right?"

You looked at him incredulously to see him smiling at you, happy to see you anything but sad.

"You're the best Teddy."

"I know."

"I'm glad you do."

…If nobody was going to want to help you, you were sure as hell going to make things work for yourself. You ran up the staircase and opened the closet of doom and hoarding and- alright alright fine I get it. You got out old books you kept for some reason or another out of your closet, as well as a notebook and some pens and papers.

"So Teddy, looks like I'm going to be your teacher from now on."

He brightened and walked over to the table where you placed your things there, as well as your computer and your phone.

"Thanks, Tddy. For everything, I mean. Let's get those chocolates out."

* * *

*Bonus scene!*

The two sat on the small dining room table, one seat was propped up heavily with books for a little skelly, while the other had cushions for a picky human who couldn't stand sitting on wood in fear of squishing her butt too much.

*Hey!*

Okay, I get it. Moving on. (where were we again..? oh, right-) A small box of candies has already been emptied, it's contents being little upside-down hearts made of chocolate. Needless to say, the picky human was shocked, mostly because the wholesomeness of it all got her just shy of a heart attack.

*Shooketh to the core.*

Whatever she said. There were books on the table and two mugs filled with cocoa and marshmallows. A smaller mug lay next to the *Precious little angel that has blessed the earth by exis-* Dammit woman stop interrupting me- Ahem. The *Beautiful soft babbin-* Shut it- er.. like I said about the-.… Ha, you're not interrupting now, are you? Good. The-… You KNOW why I paused my spiel, don't be coy, Y/N. Don't you have any conversation etiquette?! Hmph. Like I was saying, some books were open and some papers lay strewn across the table, while a pencil (That was shaved down too much but Y/N kept anyway for some reason… Maybe you should stop hoarding, Y/N. That closet of yours is getting very concerning.) was held in a much smaller hand.

"Now that's 'A', there's 'B'…" She said softly so he could understand it.

A tiny tail wagged slightly in place as the bitty focused on his lesson while chewing a marshmallow from the drink. They both had cocoa mustaches, but Y/N was the only one aware of it. She still didn't take it off. Weirdo.

*I would say a snappy remark but I'm kind of in a corner on this one so…*

They saved eachother, in a way… (sniff)… I'M NOT CRYING YOU ARE-

*Jeez, don't be so exaggerated, omnipresent narrator. We aren't even real- mmf! MFF!*

They don't need to know that. Also, where are the tissues? (where are you pointing..?) Oh, there? Gotcha. I'm gonna raid your house by the way, Y/N.

*Good luck with finding something of value.*

I can just get your Keurig, blu-ray player and laptop.

*Wait NO-*

The narrator—is running around the house right now- so uh..- Bye for now!

*Teddy, go to your room, okay? I soundproofed it. Veeery good, just walk right over there, I'll close the door; you have your toys and stuff and I'll come back, okay? Good. Now, GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF EDITH OR I'LL KILL YOU!*

Screams echo out in the distance. Is it safe to say that this is non-Canon?

I DIDN'T EVEN NEED THIS! YEET-

*THAT HAD SO MANY CDS TO GO WITH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, BITCH!*

I CAN JUST WRITE ANOTHER ONE INTO EXISTENCE, CRAZY ASS!

*IT WON'T BE THE SAME! I-IT NEVER WILL!*

HA YOU CRYING- Shit! CDS ARENT SHURIKENS, Y/N!

*NOW THEY'RE GONNA BE!*

…Knowing the reader, probably not. Don't worry, why would I make myself a self insert anyway? In a reader story? That's so meta.

Oh, right. She's still throwing the CDs. If you don't see a chapter in more than a month… then it's probably cause I'm lazy to do it. Words can't kill, duh.

*I wish they did.*

I'll cry myself to sleep about it.

Thank you for following this story, and expect more from this as time goes by!


	5. Guess I drowned a bit more than usual

TW/ Panic attacks!

Y/N remembers a couple of things. She doesn't get why her chest hurts so damn much because of it.

* * *

**Author's note!:Its... been a while, huh? Somehow it feels kinda weird to post this without elaborating more or micromanaging it. I just tried going with the flow honestly. But uh... yeah. This is more or less a transition into getting some other characters in, as well as getting back into the writing groove of things. So... I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

You left the night you turned 18. You never turned back; packed your papers and your things in two hefty luggages and bought yourself a twinkie bar with the fifty bucks he gave you for the travel expenses to college dorms.

At least you were good at one thing, and that was barely shaving past scholarship requirements.

And.. though you would never admit it then, things got better. You got better. More space. More time to think. Eventually you even got to a good therapist.

A dubious roommate. Your new friend.

A bachelors degree (and with it, no more fucking calculus- all the times you had laid dead in front of a computer with only energy drinks to keep you going while also needing to finish a billion other projects- but it was done! aha! it wy

That roommate was the best friend you never had. The one encouragement to keep you pushing on through the absolute pain that was college- and for a major you were probably never going to use of all things.

Seriously, what were you thinking with modern arts?

Eh, at least you ticked it on your resume among the list of other odd jobs; you had to pay for cup noodles somehow!

A cheap apartment. You move out to go to an actual house with a similar rent.

A drawing tablet that you treated yourself to. You draw to your hearts content.

A home. Better than anything you'd ever imagine.

A life. A wonderful, free life.

A tiny friend. Your little angel.

You had all of these wonderful things in your life now.

The stresses? the doomsday device of a brain that you had?

They were still here. And sometimes, your brain liked to remind you of this neat little fact.

* * *

You snap out of a light doze with the same heavy, husky pressure on your chest; restricting the normal motion of your lungs as you struggle to take another breath. A panic attack; you knew it the second you woke up. You tried to get up and breathe but nothing was working. No breathing exercise could calm you down. Your hands shook and tears wet your cheeks at how bad this one was. Why? what even triggered it?

Why were you like this?

Your heart was pounding in your ears like a mechanic hammer dead-set on you head, just blow after blow after blow and you couldn't take it-

You're gonna die you're gonna die you're gonna die- you're gonna have a heart attack and die- the world is imploding on you and you just want to-

"Y-...Y/N?"

**No.**

**He can't see you like this.**

You glanced over shakily to see Teddy staring back at you with a horrified sort of concern- he quickly jumped down the last few steps with measured hops and ran over to the couch with a comforting glow in his eyes. The sight alone of him there, mixed with the crazed worrying of him breaking something on the steps made you calm down, just a bit. Just enough to feel like you had enough footing with your breathing.

"Go… Go 'way Teds- p-please." He shook his head no; determined to fix whatever was wrong with you.

You try pleading for the world to end you right then and there- just to make you disappear to avoid him seeing how weak you were. The fear clings to your chest even harder, like claws sinking deeper into your heart.

Soon he climbed up the comforter and stood there, arms out and still wanting to help but not knowing what to do . He settled for sitting next to your leg and patting it soothingly. The dark living room was soon lit up with the soft glow of his eyelights.

You didn't deserve this.

You didn't deserve him.

You try to gently push him away, to tell him that you're okay. To tell him to go back upstairs and leave you alone.

You only manage to tap him and mumble something so breathlessly- so incoherently that even you can't hope to understand what was said.

A few more breaths later and you feel just enough footing in your pace that you can say a sentence, at least.

"I-I'm fine, T-Tedds. Go... Go back upstairs-" You managed to hush out between the dry heaves of your stomach and the fluttering, breathless tremor of your lungs. "I.. I can handle this."

He looks up at you and smiles a small, sad smile. It makes you want to cry more.

"This isn't new to me, Boo. It happens all the time in the shops."

"I'm not going. Just breathe. I'll be here, no matter how long it takes, 'kay?" he smiles reassuringly (but you can see that quiet fear in his eyes- the worried crease in his brow is too deep for you to not notice.) You don't feel like protesting any longer so you simply hug him close to you as you ride out the attack

You choked back a sob while trying to breathe steadily- heave in, heave out, heave in and-

He simply stays there, humming a small tune to himself that is admittedly off-ene (yet it was the best thing you could focus on besides the cluster of panicked thoughts in your head) and petting the top of your hand with his bony little palms.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in…

Breathe… out…

You were so unbearably tired. Everything just felt heavy and you weren't up for this- not in the slightest.

So you lay back down on the sofa and you practically feel the sofa becoming one with you; always and forever.

It was romantic, actually. The unique bond of human and upholstery, never to come apart till death come for you. Though, it'd be a hell of a lot better if the couch didn't have a habit of stealing everything you loved between the cracks; with all the change you found there, you were honestly surprised at the fact that you weren't rich yet. C'mon couch, have some sympathy.

For once in however long you've been a mess, you slept peacefully. A small figure curled up comfortably into the crook of your neck and slept knowing that his boo was okay now.

* * *

…For some reason, you're sitting on a lilac cloud.

You wake up as usual and groan with the absolute headache; it was like your brain was to break out of your skull- sorry, there's no chance of getting out of the lease, so good luck with that, brain. Where the hell was your tylenol, anyway? or Excedrin? or a hammer? a hammer would be more effective at this point, all things considered.

When did you even fall asleep? you don't even drink; how could you feel so sluggish-

Teddy .

Has he eaten? Is he alright? What happened?

Oh.

You broke down in front of an eight year old.

You grab onto the backframe of your couch and slowly pull your practically dead carcass up, lugging your head forward last and feeling another wave of nausea wash over you. How can alcoholics deal with this every morning?

"mmmmfivemoreminutesmama" whispered a tiny voice nestled on your side. What? You pry open your crusty eyes and take a brief moment to rub them, then look around. House destroyed? Nope.

Stepmother here?

Nada.

It was definitely morning- probably no later than ten am or so. You take a hesitant glance down to see Teddy still stubbornly grabbing onto the fabric of your oversized sweater and biting said fabric. You try to gently pry his sleeping form away from the clothing, but goddamn if his jaw strength isn't something! He sat there like a piranha from some retro videogame and you were too far away from your phone to try and entertain yourself until he woke up.

Wake him up? Psh, no. You weren't some kind of sadist. No, this called for special measures of patience and silence. And also keeping a safe distance between his teeth and your side; even though it was thick fabric, those chompers were nothing to scoff at. A quick glance at your hand could prove that in an instant.

It didn't hurt as much anymore, thankfully. You peel off a small piece of bandaging to see the wound red and puffy, but scabbed over and healing. You knew what you signed up for when you adopted him, after all.

…maybe you could get him some more things to play with.

Or hell, maybe you could take him to the park! Kids still like the park, right?

… right?

It was certainly park-worthy weather, after all. A quick glance back at him made you wonder what else he'd possibly like. The beach? boats? Canoeing? eating out? You never found much of a point in doing it alone, but now that someone else was there…

A smile crept on your face at the thought of seeing his face once he steps on the sand, or gets on a boat and sees the waves rush past, or going on a canoe in a nearby lake, where the water is so still that it looks like a mirror reflection of the forest itself. Would he like hiking? Or going to the mall and checking out shoes? Or a petting zoo?

In your excitement he started to stir, rousing up gently as his grip on your sweater slowly faded away and he sat down to rub his own little boney eyesockets. He yawned a big, jaw-popping yawn and then blinked owlishly with wide eyelights. You simply stared as he gathered his bearings and grinned, tiny boney tail wagging happily at the sight of you.

"Mornin' mama." He said as he got up to his feet and hugged your arm; you hugged back with the palm of your hand; never too tight but not too soft. "Morning Tedds. How're you feeling?"

He stretches briefly and all of his vertebrae pop in unison. "'m doing good now. Hey, what do you wanna d-" he freezes once he sees the skin of your hand, the walks over towards it and pulls your hand closer to inspect it. He grows rather guilty at the sight of it, then looks back up at you. "I'm sorry, boo."

You frown and immediately dismiss the apology "No. Sorry is illegal if you've already been forgiven."

He blinks at the statement but goes to pet your hand softly, as though it might break if he pets too hard.

You pull him into yet another hug and he hugs back however he can; teeth clicking a couple of times in a restrained effort to not bite. Taking this as a sign to pull away, you set him carefully on the sofa yet again and kiss his bony little head. He really doesn't expect this, it seems, because he does a strange little sound of both confusion and embarrassment.

He stammers, eyelights wide. "I- nobody ever-" He continues repeating odd sentence fragments before looking up at you, arms slack at his sides. "You're squishy."

You laugh aloud at this and get up from the couch, tossing the blanket in a calculated corner of the sofa and making sure not to hit teddy in your throw.

"Squishiness is but a blessing and a curse, Tedds."

"How come?"

"If you're too squishy, your squishiness starts spilling out of your shirt, and you can't fit your squishiness in jeans anymore. Or shorts. Or bikinis." You groaned out of pure experience with 'squishiness' as teddy hummed in acknowledgement.

"What's a bikini?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"Okay."

Teddy kicked absently at the the couch pillow and you flip back your hoodie; it was way too big for you; your head was way too small for it. Wait... Teddy was the perfect size for this- ...

"Hey Teddy, do you wanna hitch a ride on my hoodie?" Teddy looked a bit confused at this but nodded eagerly at the thought regardless.

You pick him up and put him in the hood of your sweater; it was a thick grey sweater that you had bought in a men's clothes store, once upon a time, with a fluffy hood and fluffier pockets. You also believed that the person you were giving it to was going to appreciate it, but uh…

"Next time, just give me the money instead."

That didn't go well. Too bad for him, it's yours now. And you looked handsome in it.

"So Teddy, how is it up there?" you asked as you adjusted the hood and pulled on the strings so he wouldn't be too wobbly.

"I'VE NEVER BEEN SO TALL IN MY LIFE!" he exclaims, patting the top of your head eagerly and soon finding himself petting your hair. "ALSO THIS IS SUPER FLUFFY!"

He sighed and flopped on your hair; you could feel the small pitter patter of his heart."Your hair is pretty. I want hair someday."

"I have an unhealthy amount of doll wigs with your name on it, Tedds."

"REALLY?!" he gasps and grabs onto your hair, to which you promptly cry uncle. "Oh! I'm sorry." He pats the area soothingly and makes himself comfortable in the hoodie as you put your hair in a side-ponytail for him to have more breathing room.

"Really. I can even style a few for you, if you want.'

"I'd like that." He says. "I- I'd like that a lot."

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" you ask idly as you open the fridge and inspect it for a quick breakfast.

"I… hmm…." Teddy looks at the ingredients, but doesn't seem to decide yet.

"Take your time, there's no rush. Just give me an idea and I'll try my best to make it reality." you offer, to which he mulls over the thought. Would this finally be your chance to act like one of those professional chefs on Youtube? hell yeah! now you just needed a super expensive camera and fake food props!

"Hey Boo, can I ask you a favor?"

"Yep?"

"See, there's this really cool food that was playing on some ads and I've always wanted to try it and it might be too much to ask for bu-"

"Nope, wrong answer, nothing you ask for will ever be "too much", okay?"

He nods in slight disbelief but you don't call him out on it. "Okay. Well… then… can you make me a sandwich?"

…that's it?

He just wanted a sandwich?

Of all the bizarre foods he could ask for; all the different things he could try, he just wanted a sandwich.

Dammit tear-ducts! take one for the team- no leaking in these territories!

"That's what you want, right?"

"Mhm. I've never tried one before.'

"Of course! Lemme get out some ingredients, and I'll show you how to make it as I make you one, okay?"

You don't need to see him to know that he's nodding excitedly.

"That is called multi-tasking."

"Multitaskin'" he hushes out, as if the word were sacred.

"There we go! Learning already!"

He giggles from the hoodie as he rests his head on top of yours to get a better view of the countertops. Who said that ratatouille and totem-poles couldn't be a joint-idea?

Purebites need protein, right? Hmm. There's bacon… you could make him a BLT. You remember making those a lot in your college flat, except you added cheese and ketchup as well. Best food for any occasion.

Then again, you ended up making many sandwiches in your college flat.

You were very liked in college, even though your art major was widely found useless.

Anyway, you grab some cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and bacon, then set the bacon to fry on a small pan as you wash the lettuce and tomato respectively. Teddy simply observes silently, only making a few small sounds of acknowledgement as you slice through the tomato, making it extra-thin for teddy and moderate for yourself.

"Now Teddy, when cutting a tomato, use this kind of knife; see the little ridges on it?"

Teddy nods. "Looks like my teeth." To which you laugh at the thought; you looked at the serrated knife and all you could see was Teddy's little fangs. "Yeah, I guess it does look like your teeth, huh?"

"Well, after you wash the tomato, you cut it with this knife so that the tomato doesn't get mushy when you cut it. "

"Why does it get mushy?"

"Because if you use a smooth knife-" You pulled out a paring knife from the block nearby and gestured towards the edge. "It doesn't cut the tomato as quickly."

"Ooooh. That's magic."

"You're magic."

"Hehe."

With the tomatoes and lettuce prepped to go, you you stick the bread and cheese in the toaster oven until the cheese melts slightly, plopping it all together into a holy creation of cheap-sandwich recipes.

"Do you want the crust on your sandwich?" you say as you press his sandwich between two plates until it's flat enough for him to eat easily.

"What's a crust?" he asks and you break off some of the crust, then give it to him for him to inspect it.

He hums in somewhat approval, but doesn't seem all-too convinced. "I don't really like crusts much… so no thank you." He finally says, handing you the rest of the bread that he didn't finish. You toss it in the trash; crusts are for a certain type of person.

"That's cool then! I got an excuse to use these babies!" you pull out cookie cutters that you had saved for the very moment that they could be useful; that moment was now. You pick out a few favorites already; a star, a circle, a heart and a flower.

"which one do you want me to cut your sandwich with? They'll make it have different shapes."

"Ooh! I'll take the soul shaped one! I like it a lot." the soul shaped on- ohh he meant the heart. That's just adorable. You're calling it the soul-shaped one forever.

"Great with me! Hey Ted, let me grab you real quick." He climbs out partially from your hood and you hold him, then put him on the counter beside his plate. He immediately heads over to the 'soul' shaped cookie cutter and you place it right in the middle of the sandwich.

"Can you help me push it down, teddy?" He nods happily and the two of you go to fill in the very important tast of shaping a blt sandwich into a heart. After you shimmy it a bit and pull off the edges, a perfect heart is revealed, making Teddy squeal at how "Perfect! I love it!" it is. You offer him the corner pieces that were cut off, but he doesn't care any lwss about them, leaving you to eat the corners.

Now with his sandwich and yours fully done, you let him hitch another ride in your hoodie jacket, then put the plates on your dinner table and let him take his seat on top of all of your thick college books to be level with the table. He grabs onto his sandwich, dips it lightly in some ketchup and takes a big bite out of the thing, and then you realize that bitties have no stomach- how do they even eat?

And how is all this food fitting in that small figure?

You eat your blt, but your curiosity makes it all the more stranger to eat, college memories be damned.

His pupils were blown wide and his usual smile was even wider as he ate it, not even bothering to dip it in any more ketchup as he literally tore into the blt.

"Hey Teddy, do you like it?" you asked, already knowing the answer but wanting his input anyway- you totally don't base your self esteem on the opinions of other people or anything hahahaha-

He didn't even care to respond, simply nodding his head and eating the rest of the sandwich with renewed vigor until he finally took the last bite of it. His hands were dripping in tomato juice and his face was equally messy, but he looked extremely satisfied with his breakfast.

You never thought that you'd see Teddy start acting like one of the Sans bitties back at the shop. Furthermore, you never thought he would be this happy because of a sandwich.

A sandwich.

It really is the simple things, huh?

You didn't want to make him do much on such a full stomach, but the idea of that mess sticking further to his bones was enough to make you change your mind.

"Hey Teddy, do you want a bath? You look kinda… messy."

He blinked open a lazy, half lidded eyesocket and glanced at his hands before promptly agreeing.

Taking caution when holding him, you walked over to the bathroom and started getting it ready, turning the faucet handle until it was about waist-height for him and feeling the temperature to make sure it wasn't too hot or cold.

Skeletons can feel cold, right? Hm.

"Hey Teddy, do you want bubbles in it? I got two different kinds of bubble bath from the supermarket."

Teddy nodded absently and pointed at the purple bath soap, to which you smiled at yourself for knowing which one to pick. You poured it in the bath, turned off the water and closed the door slightly so he could change clothes and get in the tub without you looking. Privacy was important, after all, and you had a small stepping stool that he could use to get in.

Surely enough, you heard a small splash and a giggle come from the bathroom.

"I'm ready!"

"Okay, I'm coming in then, Teddy."

Apparently he thought it was funny to give the faucet a beard as well.

So you made it a conscious effort to give the showerhead a beard too.

And yourself.

And teddy.

And the bubble bath bottle.

You ran out of things to give beards though, so you decided to end bathtime there.

Thankfully you and Teddy were very ready for bubble saga episode three, but that would be for another time.

* * *

You watched a nature documentary on Netflix as you dried him off with a soft towel you had lying around; his bones were sparkly clean yet again, though there was no stomach to be seen; how was he even eating?

You handed him the now-clean sweater he came in with, as well as a pair of his jeans. He stared at it with a sort of awe, probably wondering how they even had colors after all this time. Then, surely enough he put it on and grinned to himself as he looked back at the tv, sidling next to you after some time of viewing. He felt like a little ball of warmth in your side, and balled some of your sweater in his tiny fists.

Bones were so, so very weird.

You glance at your hand and then at his petite one, wondering how similar monster skeletons were to human skeletons. Adorable little hands were the only response to your burning questions. As well as a small, slowly thumping tail.

Your phone buzzed suddenly and you turned to pick it up; was it another spam email? If someone did the same old "Nigerian prince" schtick you were going to shove their five tons of pure diamond up their sorry scamming asses.

(You received one message. )

Asshat: What's up with you lately? You don't call anymore. I feel disowned :'( [sent 5: 32 PM]

You rolled your eyes and typed back:

You: It's been three days, not a lifetime of suffering. [sent 5:49 PM]

She replied without skipping a beat as per usual.

Asshat: Any day without you is a lifetime of suffering /3 [sent 5:50 PM]

You: Well arent you a romeo today [sent 5:55 PM]

Asshat: That was just cruel. You hurt my feelings, Y/N. Fix it with a kiss owo [sent 5:56 PM]

You: That would involve skin contact. The pope would be mad at us. [sent 5:57 PM]

Asshat: Screw the pope, I'm lonely. [sent 6:01 PM]

You laughed as you typed a response. Teddy was still fast asleep, the soft snores and softer sweater nips were adorable. You absentmindedly rubbed his skull as you typed clumsily with your other hand, feeling teddy practically curl into the palm of your hand and rumble gently with something akin to a purr.

You found out that teddy likes head pats a lot.

You also found out that you like giving said head pats even more.

As for the asshat here, she was your partner in crime; Adrienne. Turns out your BLTs were a little too good back in college. The two of you dated on and off once upon a time, but you were practically sisters and you liked being single. Plus, the only romance you needed was the sweet serenade of artsy music playing in the background as you did whatever struck your mind. Or just singing the wii shop theme as you laid dead on the fluffy IKEA carpeting of your bedroom. It both excited and terrified you to know that there was someone equally childish as you in the world that was also able to tolerate you. How she tolerates herself, you had no idea.

She also joined in the carpet straddling.

And she brought funsized chocolates.

You fucking love that woman.

But most importantly, Adrienne came back from a trip yesterday. And she had no idea that you had Teddy living with you.

You: The pope is trying his best ok [Sent 6:03 PM]

You: Greasy people tryna grab him all day [Sent 6:03 PM]

Asshat: gross. People. [Sent 6:04 PM]

You: Yucky. [Sent 6:05 PM]

Asshat: Anyway, I'm heading over to your place to raid your cheerios. [Sent 6:06 PM]

You smiled at the thought of her coming over; your apartment wasn't really messy, maybe just a few things to be put away, but nothing major. Hell, if anything she made the mess. And you were also the leading advocate to causing said mess. P lus, though her methods of inviting herself seemed too forward, she always respected when you wanted some alone time. Actually, she always respected you, period.

That was a big difference, you eventually found out.

Plus, you could introduce her to Teddy. She always watches Bitty videos, after all.

You: Leave my cheerios alone you heathen [Sent 6:10 PM]

Asshat: I will fight you [Sent 6:11 PM]

You: Bite me [Sent 6:11 PM]

Asshat: don't tempt me~ [Sent 6:13 PM]

You: Dumbass [Sent 6:14 PM]

Asshat: You know you love me [Sent 6:19 PM]

You: I do and I hate it [Sent 6: 20 PM]

Asshat: UwU I have hotpockets with your name on it [Sent 6:23 PM]

You: I will now invite you with open arms. [Sent 6:24 PM]

Asshat: tis my superpower, darling.[Sent 6:26 PM]

You: wanna know my superpower [Sent 6:30 PM]

Asshat: What is it [Sent 6:33 PM]

You: Leaving people on 'read' for uncomfortable stretches of time. [Sent 6:33 PM]

Asshat: you animal [Sent 6:35 PM]

You: not done yet- while also having it say 'typing' when its only a period in the message bar. [Sent 6:36 PM]

Asshat: i feel sick [Sent 6:43 PM]

How couldst you [Sent 6:43 PM]

Wait- you left me on-[Sent 6:43 PM]

:'-( [Sent 6:44 PM]

(see you at 8 though 030 disney movies ftw) [Sent 6:55 PM]

You sighed and kept on petting teddy as you looked around; yep, nothing too messy. A stray sweater here, some dishes there, bitty manuals out yonder, nothing bad.

This was pretty nice though… Teddy was surprisingly warm considering his size; the couch was cushy enough as it was, the television was set to a super low but calming volume that had just the right amount of input to doze off to.

She knew where the spare key was anyway… might as well…

Take a little nap…

* * *

You wake up to see cats staring you back from the living room, with Teddy and Adrienne chatting happily as they watched the little mermaid. 

And they ate all the hotpockets.

So what do you do when met with this unfortunate situation?

Why, what anyone would logicaly do, when the cats are being traitors and are surprisingly cuddling up to Adrienne.

You scream.


End file.
